A high level official team from Centre comprising joints secretaries of various ministries, Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) arrived here, in Imphal, Saturday to assess the goods scarcity in Manipur due to uncertainty on the highways in the state.The team was visiting the state as a fall out of the recent appraisal of the Chief Minister, O Ibobi Singh to the Centre about the present situation prevailing in the state during the meeting of the National Development Council held at New Delhi under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohon Singh.The 13 officials Central team arrived here comprised of Union Secretary of Border Management, AE Ahmad; joint secretary North East in-charge Navin Verma, FCI officials Siraj (CMDI), Dr Amar Singh (executive director-transport), Dr AK Raj (executive director NE in-charge), officials of IOC, joint secretary (market), Apurvachandra, General Manager A Pandiyan, Chief (ops) Manager, LN Phukan, officials of railways Dr RS Sukhala (FW) and NK Sachan (CFND NF RLW), Executive Engineer SE Madal of Ministry of Road, PET & HW and Dr Davindra P/S to Sanda director of PMO.The team held a series of meetings with the top officials of the Manipur government including Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh and assessed the situation in state. Manipur had been experiencing unusual soaring up of prices of goods due to the prolonged disturbances on the two national highways, NH-39 and NH-53. While the normal ferry of goods on the NH-39 which remained disturbed for the past four months was not resuming till date due to badly deteriorated condition of the NH-53.However, the prices of essential of goods, hiked during the 68-day long economic blockade imposed by ANSAM, were yet to be rolled back as only few trucks plied on NH-39 due to restriction imposed by the Drivers’ and Transporters’ Council (TDC).It may be made that Chief Minister had recently, in reply to oppositions’ criticism on failing to deal with artificial scarcity of goods and soaring of prices in the grey market said that the government was trying its best to solve the problem and requested the Central government for intervention and find a solution for the problem.